Tell a Fairy Tale
by PeachDestroyer
Summary: Every fairy tale begins with "One Upon a Time," but not all end with with a "Happily Ever After."/Series of independent one-shots
1. The Frog Prince or The Iron Agni

**This will be silly.**

 **A long time ago, I had created some fairy-tale retelling for fun for WotQ (none of them was ever written), and it was quite funny, so I reimagined more fairy-tales with other "Kuroshitsuji" characters. I started writing a few, one about Cinderella, one about Little Red Riding Hood, and one about The Frog King, but I didn't finish any of them and I thought that I wouldn't finish them, like, ever. But, right now, I am at a writing peak - I wrote more in the last days than in the last months -, therefore, I took out my notebook in which I write down many ideas and snippets - once, I even wrote an entire chapter in it! - and found my handwritten beginning of "The Frog Prince; or The Iron Agni" because writing silly stuff is what I do when being bored during free periods at school. I was quite surprised how long it actually was and spontaneously decided to finish it. And now, it is finished - and, well... why not uploading it then?**

 **I hope you like this silly, little fairy-tale retelling! Enjoy reading it^^**

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 **Tale One:**

 **The Frog Prince; or The Iron Agni**

* * *

 _The Frog King; or The Iron Heinrich_

* * *

 _When he loses something precious to him in a well, King Ciel encounters a very strange creature..._

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Once upon a time, in a kingdom by the sea lived a son of Royal blood with eyes like the depth of the ocean, black hair, shimmering silver, and a terrible personality well-hidden behind the walls of roses surrounding the palace he called home. And this boy, King Ciel of This Kingdom by the Sea, he lived with no other thought than to take revenge for what had been done to him – the murder of his beloved ones, the fire set in his home, the humiliation he had been forced through. He had only been a child when he made a contract with a demon, here in this kingdom by the sounding sea, whom he named "Sebastian Michaelis" after a love once lost, and appointed him as his butler until the lies became truth.

But this demon with the face of a butler and the eyes of a beast did not turn out like Ciel had wished he had as Sebastian found great love and joy in undermining his master's authority and position.

And thus, from time to time, it happened that Sebastian would deny his master his cake, resulting in the young king leaving the castle in apparent secrecy to get to his special place to which never a soul wandered.

Today was one of these days on which Sebastian brought the king into a state of aggravation and made him run into the forest to his private place. The place was not special because even the angels envied its beauty, but because there stood a well, long forgotten and embraced by roots and leaves; and in one of its stones, Ciel had once hidden a metal box, containing such a large amount of sweets that the lid could barely be closed.

But when King Ciel retrieved his box and sat down on the only part of the rim of the well, a tragedy occurred: While sitting down his clothes had brushed against the box which he had laid down earlier on the edge, and the box vanished into the blackness inside the well.

Horror washing over him, Ciel jumped down from the rim and peered down the well, but it was so deep that he could neither see the bottom nor his box. While Ciel was staring down the well, mourning the loss of his sweets and cursing Sebastian in all languages available to him, a frog suddenly put its head out of the water.

"I have witnessed all," the frog said, a creature not only peculiar because of his possession of the gift of tongues but also because of his colour of purple and gold, "and I want to help to retrieve it – but only for a price."

"I will gladly give my butler to you," Ciel said without hesitation.

"No, I do not want your butler," the frog replied.

"I will not share my sweets with you."

"I do not want your sweets either," the frog spoke. "All I want is that you love me, let me live with you, eat from off your golden plate, and sleep upon your bed."

Ciel, not half so happy about having to love a frog – what would Elizabeth, his fiancée, think if he left her for an amphibian? –, and sharing food and bed with it, agreed to the creature's conditions but crossed his fingers behind his back.

The frog, overjoyed of the answer and oblivious to Ciel's scheme, dived into the well and after a few minutes had passed he came back with the metal box. As soon as the frog put it on the well's rim, Ciel took it and quickly ran away.

* * *

The following day when Ciel was dining with his beautiful fiancée, Princess Elizabeth of the Midlands, who had spontaneously visited him today as she often would do, there was a knock on the door, and a little voice cried out: "Open the door, my prince dear! Open the door to thy dear friend here! For you have forgotten me by the well and I had to wander here all alone."

 _Forgotten? It must truly be an idiot to think I have simply forgotten him_ , Ciel thought and gestured Sebastian to stand by his side.

"There is a frog at the door," he whispered to his butler. "Exterminate him before Elizabeth catches his voice."

But his dear and lovely fiancée had already heard the sad words from behind the door, and said, "Ciel, did you not hear? There is a tapping at the door."

Ciel gazed at Sebastian and saw the demon's eyes glow red in amusement. Annoyed at the turn of events, Ciel ordered him to open the door, and the frog hopped into the room.

"A frog!" Elizabeth exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight. "And even such a cute one! Say, Ciel, when did you befriend a frog?"

"He is not my friend," Ciel replied, cursing her mother, his aunt, the late King's sister Francis, as her daughter had apparently inherited her hearing from her.

"But why did he claim to be your friend, then?"

"I am his friend!" the frog spoke to the surprise of all. "I helped him getting back something he held dear to his heart, and as gratitude, he invited me to his home – we are friends in the truest of sense."

 _He is an idiot_ , Ciel thought, and Elizabeth said, "Ciel, how could you forget your dear friend in the woods? How could you not introduce him to me?" She turned to the frog who had jumped onto the table. "Hello. I am Elizabeth, but you can call me 'Lizzy' if it feels more to your liking. And what is your name?"

"My name is Soma!" the frog happily replied. "And Ciel promised me that I could live with him, eat from his golden plate, and sleep upon his bed."

Ciel glared at Soma, and Elizabeth turned to her fiancé. "Ciel, as you have given your word you must keep it; it was not right to leave him in the woods, breaking the pledges you have given to him. You are a King and a King not keeping his word is not a good one – unless times have come which make it impossible to keep them, then it is justified. But this is not one of such times – and now, stay by your words and do what you have promised to Soma."

Disgusted, Ciel turned to Soma who beamed at him still. "I beg your pardon, but you may have seen that our plates are silver, not golden."

"It will still do its deed," the frog said, "so put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it." And scowling, Ciel did as he said, and Soma ate from his plate, and Ciel touched none of it.

When dinner was over, Soma said, "Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed."

Ciel hesitated to move, wanted to order Sebastian to do so, but with Elizabeth in the room; he could not do so. So, very unwilling, he took Soma in his hand and carried him upstairs, and Elizabeth wished them a good rest's sleep. And on his way to his chambers, Ciel could hear his butler's muffled chuckles.

In his bedroom, Ciel took a pillow of his bed and put Soma upon it, placing the pillow and him in a corner. And as Ciel was lying his bed, sleeping well and comfortable, Soma was not happy at all as this had not been what he had desired.

"I am tired, and I want to sleep as well as you do," Soma said into the dark of the room, waiting up Ciel. "Pick me up, pick me up – this wasn't what you have promised! I am afraid of the dark."

And for hours and hours, the frog's desperate cries filled the room until Ciel had enough and stood up. Soma's eyes shone when he picked him up, but then, Ciel said, "Now you will have your peace, you disgusting frog!" and threw him against a wall, full of anger, full of annoyance.

But when Soma fell down, he was not a frog anymore, but a prince with golden eyes and purple hair.

 _Am I dreaming?_ Ciel asked himself wishfully, blinking at the scene in front of him. _Was all I had seen and heard today nothing more but a bad dream?_

"Ciel!" Soma cried, proving him wrong, and embracing him tightly. "I thank you, my dearest friend! I was enchanted by a spiteful fairy and changed into a frog! You have broken his cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that I will stay with you in your Kingdom by the Sea where I will be your friend for as long as you live," he said. In this very moment, Ciel wished for his contract to end like he had never wished for something before, for Sebastian to contain his soul and save him from Soma's wish.

* * *

The next morning, at breakfast, Soma told his story to Elizabeth who was proud at Ciel for helping his friend in need when, suddenly, Sebastian arrived with the words "A carriage, drawn by eight horses, has pulled up."

"What is happening?" Ciel demanded to know, and Soma jumped to the window and said, "White ostrich feather! Chains of gold! It is my faithful butler Agni!" And all four – Soma overjoyed, Elizabeth curious, Ciel annoyed, and Sebastian amused by all – went out to the courtyard to see a man with iron bands around his body.

"My prince!" he cried out in joy when his gaze met Soma's. "After your transformation into a frog and sudden disappearance, I feared that my heart could burst in grief and sorrow – and for this reason, I placed three iron bands around my heart to keep it inside my chest. But now, all grief and sorrow are gone for you have returned to me in flesh and bone."

Soma ran across the courtyard to reunite with his faithful servant, and Ciel wondered if the haunting was now over. Suddenly, Agni approached Ciel and bowed in front of him. "You have saved my prince, His Royal Highness Prince Soma Asman Kadar of Bengal, and no word in the world can capture my gratitude."

"You do not need to thank me," Ciel replied. "Just go back to from wherever you have come."

"But it is against my wish!" Soma interfered. "Do you not remember? I wished to stay here forever to be your friend for all times to come."

"Oh, this means we will see each other more often now?" Elizabeth said enthusiastically.

"Of course! My friend Ciel is not someone who does not keep his word!" he said, proudly. "He only has a liking to say words in jokes, little sister Lizzy!"

"'Little sister'?"

"Ciel is so dear to me that I consider him my brother!"

 _Can something please save me from them?_ Ciel wished in silence when he heard a crack, thinking that his plea had been heard and the ground was cracking open, swallowing both Soma and his butler.

"Agni, are you hearing this?" Soma asked. "The carriage seems to be breaking apart."

And what Agni answered with a smile on his face was what Ciel wished not to have heard.

"No, my lord, the carriage it's not, but one of the bands surrounding my heart that suffered such great pain, when you were sitting in the well, when you were a frog."

Once again, the cracking sound could be heard, but it did not come from the ground – it came from the bands springing from faithful Agni's heart because his master was now redeemed and happy.

 _I really have to take my revenge faster_ , Ciel told himself – happy voices and a demon's chuckle sounding through This Kingdom by the Sea.

* * *

 **The first part was inspired by, well, Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe because I simply love this poem! (And once wrote an entire one-shot just about it! It is called My Lenore and is also inspired by "Snow White" and "The Raven.")**

 **Some sentences (mostly what some characters said) were taken from "The Frog King" from "The Project Gutenberg EBook of Grimms' Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm" and from this website: www . pitt . edu/~ dash / grimm001 . html**

 **More fairy-tale retellings will come whenever I have time! :D**  
 **I have quite a list up my sleeve (like the aforementioned "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Cinderella" retellings) - but I will also consider suggestions! (Can be for fairy-tales and characters.)**


	2. The Forgotten Prince

**Tale Two:**

 **The Forgotten Prince**

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 _Sleeping Beauty_

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Once upon a time, in a palace surrounded by thorns, in a place no man knew, there slept a boy – a prince long forgotten – from parents beloved.

Years passed and passed and he still slept in the palace, waiting for the right time to awaken...

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 **See the next chapter for notes.**


	3. Off the Path

**I found the last chapter in my "fairy-tale story drafts."**

 **It is short and small - and it was never supposed to be longer. I am putting the notes for the last chapter here because I don't want the notes to become longer than the chapter itself^^'**

 **I wrote "The Forgotten Prince" in February - and I think, after not having updated this story in so long and after the big revelation, it is finally time to post it. But because it is so short, I didn't want to upload it on its own. That's why, today, there's a twin update :D**

 **I have found the beginning of this chapter in my little notebook - and just like I resurrected "The Forgotten Prince" from my drafts, I resurrected this one as well^^**

 **I hope it is not all too silly - with rewriting and revising it got rather late yesterday XD**

 **Well, whatever, hope you enjoy this little story of mine^^**

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 **Tale Three:**

 **Off the Path**

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 _Little Red Riding Hood_

* * *

 _When tragedy strikes – will you be able to stay on the same path?_

* * *

Once upon a time, there lived a boy with a gentle smile and brilliant blue eyes who loved everyone and was loved by all. He lived with his family in a beautiful mansion, and everyone who walked passed the building could hear the boy's heart-warming laugh. But behind his radiant smiles laid darkness in the form of a weak constitution and the feeling that he would never be good enough for his loved ones.

Only when the weather was warm, he could play outside, and you could hear his laughter – and when it was cold, he could only watch.

But he was not sad; he was not as alone as he believed he was. He had the butler, Tanaka, his beloved grandfather, who kept him company whenever he could. He had his mirror and his dog. He had loving parents and aunts and uncles and cousins. But out of all, the boy loved Undertaker the most – his "Uncle Undertaker" who always knew how to cheer him up. Who knew how it was to live in the shadows.

One day, Undertaker had knit the boy a hood in the colour of the dawn. He loved it so much that he wore it every day – in- and outside, no matter if it was a warm or cold day – until everyone called him "Little Red Riding Hood" and his real name was carried away by the wind.

* * *

The years passed and when Little Red was to reach the age of ten, a tragedy occurred: The manor caught fire, someone infiltrated his home, and slaughtered all he held dear. Only Little Red and his mirror could escape under tears and screams.

And so – scared, traumatised, and alone – the two of them walked away from the remnants of their home hand in hand, not knowing where to go. It was too cold and the way to their aunts Francis and Angelina too far away – their frail, shaking bodies would break before they would come close or before they came to find them. Especially Little Red could not endure such icy temperatures like today for too long – it would be his downfall, it would be his end. And he could not leave his mirror all alone in this world because they belonged together and had to stay together forever.

The snow kept falling, and their tears dried on their cheeks – their laughter had gone out in flames, and all that had stayed was the deadness seeping into their bones. Hand in hand and with clenched teeth, they held onto what they had left, and went to the only place where they would be safe.

Undertaker's parlour on the other side of the forest.

"You can always come to me," Undertaker had once told the boys. "My doors will always be open for you."

Little Red's cap shone in the world of white and darkness and guided them along the path Little Red knew by heart. He had walked this road countless of times, but never when it was so dark and the trees seeming so scary. But the mirror was with him, and he was with the mirror, and he felt no fear – and so they walked their way through the forest. Hand in hand, with the cap shielding them from the creatures beyond the light.

"What are two boys of your nature and appearance doing in such a dark forest at this late hour?" Little Red heard a voice and flinched. The mirror wanted to go on, but Little Red was too scared to move farther.

"Who is there?" he asked into the darkness, nervously pulling his red hood deeper into his face.

For many endless moments, there was no answer, and the mirror was about to pull Little Red away when something stepped out of the blackness – a witch with a coat like raven's feathers and her face obscured by a hood like his.

"I am here," the witch answered, her voice not loud, not powerful but still impressive enough to let the branches of the trees shake in veneration. With grace, she moved towards the two little boys – and now, both of them had frozen in fear.

But before she could reach out and turn them into twisted creatures of darkness, freeing them of their misery and bringing them a greater one they would never experience, the witch stopped at the path's border and didn't go any farther.

"I have answered your question, but you didn't respond to mine," the witch said in a voice marked by wisdom and warmth that you nearly believed that she was no witch. Little Red gulped, but before he could reply, the mirror spoke first.

"We are on our way to a friend we call our uncle," the mirror answered, dignified and calm like Father, and Little Red pressed himself against him, digging his fingers into the fabric of his sleeve.

"And where does the friend you call your uncle live?"

"A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood; his house stands under the three large oak-trees, the nut-trees just below; you surely must know it as all do," the mirror replied, keeping a straight face. "Because every road someone chooses and takes will sooner or later lead to him. He is a man all know, but all hate."

"Ah, I see – the last house on the path you are following," said the witch. "What lovely boys you are – visiting your uncle in such a weather and time, you must truly love him dearly. But do you want to visit him empty-handed? Isn't it of good manner to gift the host?"

"You are right – but, unfortunately, we have nothing to give, and we are already late and cannot go back and get him something. It would take too much time we don't possess and cannot spare."

The hood still shadowed the witch's face, but Little Red could still see her smile beneath – it made the blood in his veins turn to ice.

"How sad, how unfortunate! May I lead you to a meadow which is graced by the loveliest of flowers in spring to let the snow melt and the flowers bloom so that you can marvel at their beauty and collect them for your uncle? Surely, in the dark world he is living, he wishes for colours every now and then. And what would be more colourful than freshly awakened flowers?"

"If you do not mind, you may do what you want. I give you my gratitude for your kindness, Mylady," the mirror said, and the witch started to move.

"Why did you tell her all that?" Little Red whispered to his mirror when she was a few steps ahead. "Isn't it the best to stay silent and head straight to Taker? We can still do it – we don't have to follow her."

"She is right," the mirror replied. "Tragedy happened, tragedy befell us all – but good manner is good manner and stays the same, and we shouldn't ask so much when we have nothing to repay him. And good manner doesn't let us leave her alone."

"But what if she does us harm?" Little Red asked, and his mirror smiled. "She cannot – have you not seen? She cannot enter this path. As long as we stay where we are, no tragedy will reach us again."

Little Red nodded, and together, they followed the witch along the road. After a while, she stopped and with a movement of her arm, just like she had told them before, the snow melted, the sleeping flowers started to grow and bloom, and this part of the dark forest lit up in colours and light. When the witch was done, she turned towards the boys.

"Come, don't be shy – come and collect flowers for your dear uncle."

The mirror looked at Little Red. "I will go. Stay here and don't move."

Little Red's eyes widened. "But it is off the path! You cannot go! It is too dangerous."

"But what about the flowers? Also, the meadow is now illuminated in light – it isn't like it used to be. Everything will be all right."

"But you said yourself that we cannot leave, or something terrible will happen again! If you leave, she will be able to catch and turn you."

"I will be quick, will come back right away. All will be fine, little brother, Little Red. Everything will be all right – just watch and see," said the mirror before loosening his grip around Little Red's hand – and Little Red had to watch his mirror cautiously taking a step on the meadow.

Little Red looked after him when he walked farther into the field of flowers, and his heart was beating loud and quickly with every second his mirror was away from him. They had held hands all the way from home, and Little Red had never felt once to be in danger – but now, the mirror was away, and they didn't hold hands anymore, and he was scared. And without the mirror's warmth, he felt colder than before.

The witch didn't move, stayed far away, while the mirror collected some flowers, and Little Red made sure to keep his gaze on her. But then, the mirror was done and hurried to head back, and Little Red looked at him in relief for just a second – and it was all it took. It was all it took to change all.

The flowers grew black and melted in the mirror's hands, ran through his fingers and dropped to the ground, and the flowers on the ground wrapped themselves around his legs. The meadow lost all its colours, and the light went out – and all turned even darker than it had been before. Before when all had been covered by snow and shadows and the moon's light had not been able to reach through the tree crown.

The mirror was pulled down, and Little Red ran towards him and took his hand, but he was too weak to pull him back.

"No!" Little Red called and held his grip tight while the tendrils dug their thorns in his mirror's body, painting his body and Little Red's hands scarlet. And while he was not able to free him, he didn't want to let go. He was weak, he was useless, but he would not let go of what held him together. Of what made him what he was.

The witch started to laugh at the scenery before her and dissolved into feathers which flew against Little Red – and they were so numerous, and they were so heavy that mirror and Little Red were torn apart, and he fell back.

" _Ciel!_ " Little Red screamed while the mirror was pulled into a darkness never seen before.

Shaking and unable to move, Little Red stared into the blackness his mirror had vanished into, and his dried tears were succeeded by new.

 _Undertaker_ , he thought after a long while of snow falling upon him and thoughts of nothingness. _I need to go to him – perhaps, he can help. Perhaps… perhaps, he can bring him back._

Little Red struggled to stand up, and his vision was blurred by the tears in his eyes when he walked towards Undertaker's house. When he ran through the woods on the path he had thought was safe.

And with every step Little Red made, he felt colder and number, and sadness and shock was replaced by anger, and this anger dried the tears in his eyes. Dried the tears in his eyes and set them on fire.

"Take care, little boy, you are about to leave the path you are following," sounded a voice next to him, and Little Red turned around and saw a big wolf with black fur and big eyes in the colour of blood and fire. Wolf and Little Red – each of them was standing on one of the sides of the path's thin border.

"Where are you going, little boy?" the wolf wanted to know, showing his big white teeth.

You should never speak to wolves – but Little Red had nothing to lose but himself anymore, so he didn't leave but spoke.

"I am going where I can find what I have lost," Little Red said, his body too numb from the cold to feel fear, and he wondered if he would be capable of feeling anything ever again. "Where I can take revenge on the ones who have taken all away from me."

The wolf grinned. "Oh, I see – what wrongs have been done to you, little boy?"

"Too many to tell a wandering wolf like you," Little Red said, his tone icy as it had never been before.

"Ah, I see, little boy, but do you know where the place is you seek? It seems like you wandered with aim along this path of light – but I tell you, little boy, that you will not find what you wish for at the end of this road."

"Do not call me 'little boy.'"

"So it should be 'Little Red Riding Hood,' then? Is this the name you prefer?"

Little Red reached up and took the cap from his head, holding it in his blood-stained fingers. He ran a hand over the fabric drenched by snow, and for a split second, he hesitated before he let the cap fall down.

The boy straightened and looked directly into the wolf's red eyes. "I am not little – and I am not 'Little Red Riding Hood.'"

"But who are you then?"

"I am…" the boy said, extending his hand to the wolf. His hand still stained by his mirror's blood – still stained by blood which could never be cleaned.

Which would be a scar never to be removed.

"Ciel Phantomhive," the boy answered, "I am Ciel Phantomhive. This is the name I carry now and will carry into my grave. I will bring back what was taken away from me. I will be the nightmare told against the wind and fire – and I order you to lead me where I can find revenge and all things lost, wolf."

The wolf grinned and took his hand, black claws around the red right hand of his. "Your order is my wish, Young Master," he replied. "But only if you are willing to pay the price for the crossing and the wish your heart desires."

He had lost his mirror, and his mirror had lost him.

They had been mirrors of one another.

Two pieces forming one.

He was only a reflection – and with no mirror by his side, he could not go on living.

All his life, he had gone out in sunshine – but now, it was time to embrace the wintriness around him and growing inside his chest.

Even if it meant to walk off the path he had known all his life.

"I will pay every price – no matter how big, no matter how small. My wish, my desire surpasses it all."

Ciel Phantomhive closed his eyes when the wolf dragged him over the border and led him to roads nobody had ever taken.

And his cap waited for him ever to return.

In vain.

All was in vain.

* * *

 **The description how to go to Undertaker's house ("A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood; his house stands under the three large oak-trees, the nut-trees just below; you surely must know it as all do") was taken and adapted from "LITTLE RED-CAP [LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]" from "The Grimms' Fairy Tales" which can be viewed and downloaded from Gutenberg Project.**


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